Over 260 classrooms in Joplin, Missouri were destroyed by the May 22 tornado that devastated the city. Teachers are working to restock classrooms and create a warm, familiar atmosphere. Through Donors Choose, you can help fund Joplin teachers’ classroom projects.

Donors Choose lets public school teachers put their wish lists on the web for donors to find. This year, a caller asked Charles Best, the founder, how much it would cost to fund every California teacher’s project, reports the SF Chronicle. Best said, “Something over $1 million.”

Twelve hours later, the woman, Hilda Yao, executive director of the Claire Giannini Fund, sent Best an e-mail.

It said, in short, OK.

A day later, Yao mailed a check of more than $1.3 million to cover the entire California wish list, 2,233 projects in all, with an extra $100,000 tossed in to help pay for other teacher needs across the country.

The projects funded by the donation range from $100 for pencil sharpeners or paper to thousands of dollars for technology, Best said.

I donated to “Bookless in Miami,” a second-grade teacher, through Donors Choose. She’d written:

When I first walked into my new classroom, I thought there must have been a mistake. “Where are all the books?” I asked the Assistant Principal. She pointed to a table of scattered books. I was in shock to find that there was no “classroom library” where students could find rich literature, and books from a variety of genres they could read from.

. . . My students need an abundance of interesting books that can be matched to their independent reading level in order for them to be kept motivated and entertained during their reading time.